India and its women

Why women will continue to be raped in India In Delhi women get raped, people look on, helplines dont work Rape-Outrage-Rape: This vicious cycle must end Sheila, Mamata and the plight of the rape victim We need sensitive prosecutors, not fast-track courts Uthva lenge can be solved with political danda 92 percent working women feel insecure in Delhi-NCR Ten rapes in moving vehicles in 10 years in Delhi 10 13 16 19 21 22 24 26

Detailed live updates

Copyright 2012 Firstpost

A most horrific crime

Copyright 2012 Firstpost

Girl gangraped, thrown off

moving bus in South Delhi

A medical student was allegedly gangraped in a private bus in the Vasant Vihar area of southwest Delhi on Sunday night.FP Staff, Dec 17, 2012

medical student was allegedly gangraped in a private bus in the Vasant Vihar area of southwest Delhi on Sunday night. This comes as yet another incident of violence against women highlighting how unsafe the national capital region has become. According to reports, the girl and a male friend had boarded a private bus around 11 pm from Munirka in south Delhi. He was going to drop the girl at her residence in Dwarka. However this did not prove to be too much protection, as a group of men first attacked the boy with rods, following which five men allegedly gangraped the girl, reported NDTV.

CNN-IBN quoted police as saying that the girl and her friend were then stripped and thrown out of the bus near the Mahipalpur flyover in south Delhi. The victims friend registered a complaint with the Vasant Vihar police station at around 1.15 am. A First Information Report (FIR) has been lodged at the Vasant Vihar police station. The cops have seized two buses, however, no arrests have been made so far. The girl is said to be in a critical condition at the Safdarjung hospital.

Copyright 2012 Firstpost

Doctors treating the 23-year-old victim of a brutal gangrape incident in Delhi say that the extent of injuries on the girl are completely shocking, and that the men involved clearly had strong psychopathic tendencies.FP Staff, Dec 18, 2012 octors treating the 23-year-old victim of a brutal gangrape incident in Delhi say that the extent of injuries on the girl are completely shocking, and that the men involved clearly had strong psychopathic tendencies.

probably shoved up her private parts. She is currently receiving treatment at the Safdarjung hospital. The incident took place on Sunday night, when the victim, a para-medical student and her friend, boarded the bus from Munirka to go to Dwarka, after watching a film. Police said that a group of five to seven people on the bus started misbehaving with the girl a few minutes after she boarded the bus, which had no other passengers. The victims friend tried to prevent the men from molesting her, but the men beat him up and sexually assaulted the girl. The accused then threw the girl and her friend out of the bus near Mahipalpur in south Delhis Vasant Vihar area.

This barbaric act is a result of aggression and frustration . As they were in a group, this aggression and frustration just pushed them to this heinous crime. It is not just a sexual assault, the brutality with which she has been beaten up shows that they had deep psychopathic traits. Drugs, alcohol just make things worse, Dr Jitender Nagpal, head of institute of mental health, Moolchand Hospital told the Times of India. The extent of injuries on the victim are extremely severe. She has intestinal damage after being repeatedly hit with a blunt object on her abdomen, and doctors say the extent of genital damage indicates that a blunt object was also

The Times of India report added that the girl had undergone a four-hour operation in which large parts of her intestines had to be removed because of the extent of damage. She has reportedly gained consciousness but is still in a state of shock. Meanwhile, the Delhi police who arrested three of the seven accused on Monday, said that they had arrested one more suspect this morning. Three other suspects have been detained for questioning. The police have also recovered the iron rod, which was used to assault the victim and her friend.Copyright 2012 Firstpost

Delhi gangrape: Police file

attempt to murder chargesPolice has invoked more stringent charges of attempt to murder and destruction of evidence against the six persons in the gangrape of a young paramedical student.PTI, Dec 20, 2012

ew Delhi: Delhi Police has invoked more stringent charges of attempt to murder and destruction of evidence against the six persons in the gangrape of a young paramedical student on Sunday night. Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said in Parliament today that Delhi Police have added sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence) against the accused. The 23-year-old girl was raped and brutally assaulted by the six men in a moving bus in south Delhi.

Police had earlier charged them under sections 365 (kidnapping or abducting), 376 (2)(g) (gang rape), 377 (unnatural offences), 394 (hurting in committing robbery) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC. Four persons have been arrested in the case so far while one was detained from Bihar.

Copyright 2012 Firstpost

Battling for life, Delhi rape victims

tells mother, I want to live

The girl is in a critical condition and faces the prospect of never being able to eat a meal in her life if she survives.FP Staff, Dec 20, 2012

attling for life at Safdarjung hospital, the 23-year-old woman, who was gangraped and thrown out of a bus on Sunday night, had to undergo a second surgical procedure on Wednesday morning, in which most of her intestine was removed.

The girl is in a critical condition and faces the prospect of never being able to eat a meal in her life if she survives. But doctors said she was fighting on. A doctor in the hospital said that it appeared that the girl had been violated with a metal rod, reported Hindustan Times. One of the accused persons who were brought to the hospital for a medical examination on Tuesday confessed to having seen a rope-like object likely her intestines being pulled out of the girl by the other assailants on the bus. The girls brother said that he wants capital punishment for the men responsible for his sisters condition. They should all be hanged. It will not lessen my sisters pain but it will deter others from repeating such a crime, he said, as quoted by Indian Express. The family was banking on the victim for financial assistance as her two younger brothers 18 and 20 years of age are still studying. The girls father had sold his small land holding to help his daughter realise her dream of becoming a doctor.

After the surgery, when she spoke to her family for the first time since the incident, she told her mother, Mujhe bacha lomain jeena chahti hoon (Save meI want to live). Though she is still incapable of speaking, she also made enquiries about her family and the condition of her male friend through scribbled notes.

Copyright 2012 Firstpost

Delhi gangrape accused in court

Two of those accused in the crime have reportedly admitted to being involved in the brutal assault on the girl in a bus in Delhi, with one of them going so far as to say he wanted to be hung.FP Staff, Dec 19, 2012 hree of the six persons accused of brutally assaulting and then raping a 23-yearold medical student on a bus in Delhi were produced before a court today where two of them admitted to being a part of the crime and one admitted that he had committed a horrible crime.

Hang me to death

fication parade for the girl or her male friend to verify that they were those involved in the crime. He and another accused, Vinay Sharma, have told the court that they were ashamed about their actions. Sharma reportedly told the court, We hit the boy but not the girl. Three of the four men arrested so far have refused to participate in an identification parade. The court remanded Gupta and Sharma to four days in police custody while another accused Mukesh was sent to Tihar jail where he will be lodged for 14 days in judicial custody. Another report stated that of the two other accused who have still to be arrested, one of them has been detained.

I have done a horrible crime, one of the accused Pawan Gupta told the Delhi court in which he was produced by the police today. According to CNN-IBN, Gupta reportedly said, Mujhe phansi de do (Hang me to death). However, Gupta refused to undergo an identi-

Akshay Thakur has been detained from Aurangabad in Bihar and is being brought to Delhi, sources said. The 23-year-old para-medical student was raped and brutally assaulted by four men, who also attacked her male friend and threw both of them out of the vehicle.

Copyright 2012 Firstpost

India and its women

Copyright 2012 Firstpost

Why women will continue

to be raped in IndiaSo we might take to the streets to protest. Have candle night vigils. Protest on Twitter and Facebook. Call for chemical castration. Face water cannons from the police. Sing ballads against the government. Breakdown and cry while speaking in the Rajya Sabha.Vivek Kaul, Dec 20, 2012

ate last night while flipping television channels I saw TV Mohandas Pai, a former CFO and HR Head of Infosys, advocating chemical castration for rapists. A leading television anchor also ran his show yesterday around the theme and instigated his celebrity panellists in trying to get them to advocate chemical castration for rapists in India. My heart is also thinking along similar lines.

It even goes to the extent of telling me that the rapists should be stoned to death. But my head tells me even that wont make a difference. Any solution is as good as the system that executes it. In a country like India if anything like chemical castration for committing rapes becomes the order of the day and the police are pushed to solve rape cases faster, what are they likely to do? More often than not they will getCopyright 2012 Firstpost

hold of some random guy (the homeless, the slum dweller or probably just about the first person they can get their eyes on) beat the shit out of him and get him to confess to it. How do we ensure something like that does not happen? There is absolutely no way to do that. The other point here is that the police and the judiciary the way they have evolved in India cater more to the rich and powerful rather than to those who need the system to work for them. How do we ensure that solutions like chemical castration will not be abused by the rich and the powerful? Someone very close to me for the last two years has been caught up fighting a false case registered against him in New Delhi. All it takes is a bribe of Rs 15,000-20,000 to the local thanedar to get a false first information report (FIR) registered. And it takes Rs 500-1000 to the babu at the court to ensure that the case does not come up for hearing, every time it is scheduled it. And this in a place like Delhi, which is the capital of the country. Imagine what must be happening in small towns and villages across India? The police in this country have sold out lock, stock and barrel and they shouldnt be given any further ways of creating more problems for the citizens of this country. What is interesting is the speed with which Delhi Police has acted in this case and managed to round up most of the rapists. The Delhi High Court has taken suo motu cognizance of the gang-rape and asked the Delhi Police to explain how the offence remained undetected. Yes the citizens of this country are up in arms against what has happened but that I dont believe is the real reason why the police and the judiciary have acted with such speed. The only reason for showing the speed that the system has is that the rapists come from the lower strata of the society. They are the ordinary citizens of this country. As The Times of India reports The accused have been identified as Ram Singh (33), resident of Ravidas Camp at Sector 3, R K Puram (driver of the bus, DL1PB-0149), his brother Mukesh, 24, (who was driving during the gang rape), Vinay Sharma, 20, (an assistant gym

instructor in the area), Pawan Gupta, 18, (fruit seller), Akshay Thakur, 26, (bus cleaner) and another cleaner, Raju, 25. If the accused had been the sons of the rich and powerful the entire administration would have by now been working towards getting their names cleared. The molestation charges against SPS Rathore, an inspector general of police were never proved. He got away with more than a little help from his friends in the government. Manu Sharma, son of Congress politician Venod Sharma, was first acquitted for the murder of model Jessica Lal. With the hue and cry that followed the judgement was overturned and Sharma was sentenced to life imprisonment. In 2009, Sharma was allowed a parole of 30 days to attend to his sick mother and other matters. His mother was later found attending public functions and Sharma was found partying at a nightclub in Delhi. Matinee idol Salman Khan had rammed his Toyota Land Cruiser into a bakery in Bandra on September 28,2002, killing one person and injuring four others. The case has dragged on for ten years now. Recently, cop turned lawyer-activist YP Singh revealed that the Police had deliberately not taken the job of issuing summons seriously. Also, Salman was absent 82 times when summoned by the court. This is what the rich and powerful in this country can do. The police is at their beck and call. Loads of rape cases go nowhere because the rich and the powerful who are the accused simply bribe their way through the system. When the accused go unpunished or justice takes a long time to be delivered, it makes rape a way of life for Indian men. That brings me to my final point, the male:female sex ratio in India. As Vivek Dehejia and Rupa Subramanya write in Indianomix Making Sense of Modern India In 2011, the Census estimates that there were 914 girls for every 1,000 boys for the ages 0-6. This is even worse than in 2001, when there were 927 girls for every 1,000 boys. More pointedly, this ratio is the worst ever since the countrys independence in 1947In nature, with no sex selection the observed sex ratio is approximately 1,020Copyright 2012 Firstpost

males for every 1,000 females. What this tells us is that as a country we have a son preference. And that leads us to sex-selective abortion and even female infanticide. In simple English we kill our girls before and just after they are born. Delhi and the neigbouring state Haryana have among the lowest sex ratios in the country. And it just doesnt end there. Debraj Ray and Siwan Anderson have carried out research to suggest that most women who go missing in India do so as adults than at birth or as children. That explains Indias highly skewed sex ratio in favour of men. Dehejia and Subramanya talk about the research of Ray and Anderson in their book. As they write They show that about 12 per cent of women in India are missing at birth: they are probably missing due to sex selective abortion or infanticide. Another 25 per cent perish in childbirth. But thats only a little more than a third of the total. Another 18 per cent go missing during their reproductive period, which picks up among other things deaths during childbirth. But a massive 45 per cent of the total number of missing women go missing in adulthood, something which by definition cannot have anything to do with sex selection. Anderson and Ray come up with some more information. They find that its only in Punjab where the majority of missing women are at birth: in fact its as high as 60 per cent of the excess female mortality in the stateTwo other states show up as having a majority of of their women missing at birth or in childhood (before the age of 15) and it shouldnt surprise you to

learn that theyre Haryana and Rajasthan. Hence, we kill our women before birth, after birth and keep killing them as they grow up. In a society like this it is not surprising that men grow up with terribly demented minds and commit heinous rapes like the one in Delhi. People are appalled. And they want instant justice. Chemical castration. Public hanging. Stoned to death. Anything will do. But what has happened is sheer reflection of the way India has evolved. Women being raped day in and day out is a story of Indian evolution. And evolution cannot be undone. So we might take to the streets to protest. Have candle night vigils. Protest on Twitter and Facebook. Call for chemical castration. Face water cannons from the police. Sing ballads against the government. Breakdown and cry while speaking in the Rajya Sabha. But things wont change. As Arvind Kejriwal keeps reminding us poore system ko badalna padega. And that of course is easier said than done. And in a day or two when our conscience is more at peace with itself, we will go back to living our lives like we always have. Because we are like this only. Meanwhile, women will continue to be raped. Vivek Kaul is a writer. He can be reached at vivek.kaul@gmail.com

Copyright 2012 Firstpost

In Delhi women get raped,

people look on, helplines dont workAccording to Delhi Police data, there were 480 reported cases of rape last year and 580 cases of sexual assault this year. Delhi has also seen 10 rapes that have taken place in moving vehicles, in the last 10 years.Arlene Chang, Dec 19, 2012

ew Delhi: A senior citizen at the protest gathering against the gang rape of a 23-year-old girl on a Delhi bus, hands joined together and barely coherent amidst her sobs, pleaded to the men in the crowd: Please for Gods sake, allow us to be. Protect us if we cant protect ourselves and do not take advantage of us. You were born from us. We are your mothers and sisters. The protesters had more than sufficient cause for anguish. The 23-year-old medical student who boarded a private bus from South Delhis Munrika towards Palam was brutally

gangraped, while her male companion was assaulted with an iron rod, after which both were thrown out of the bus near the Mahipalpur flyover. The girl, who suffered intestinal damage and severe injuries on her head and face after being assaulted by a blunt object, was put on full-time ventilatory support after her condition deteriorated last evening and is still in the ICU at Safdarjang Hosptal. As the men watched the old lady cry in silence and TV cameras flocked to her for rich visuals, the young women among the protestors were more bitter.Copyright 2012 Firstpost

Delhis buses have always been unsafe and while each time it may not be a case of rape, theres always some kind of sexual harassment nudging, leaning, rubbing, pinching, blatantly groping, crude sexual language and the like, said Kopal, a PhD student of English at Jawaharlal Nehru University. In situations of sexual harassment, one cant help but notice the distinct divide in men and women. The men will always support the man accused of misbehaving. Delhi buses have been an infamous space for sexual harassment. Stories of assault, serious and minor, are an unfortunate rite of passage for girls in the capital traveling by public transport which meant traveling by buses before the Delhi Metro came along. While this uncouth behavior has been in existence for years, most citizens say, things have not changed and nobody cares. Kopal, a Delhi girl, has been a lifelong commuter of the citys buses. Theres nothing unprecedented about it and traveling in buses was always bad, and still is. To give you an example, women commuters not only get harassed in buses but they also have to demand and fight with men for what is rightfully theirs. Case in point is the seats reserved for women in buses, she said. Another student at JNU, someone who identified herself as Bipasha and a PhD student of environmental science, said that unlike Kolkata, her hometown, Delhi suffers from a complete apathy towards women. In Kolkata, one cannot even dream of molesting or sexually harassing a woman and getting away with it whether on public transport systems, or on roads. The perpetrators will be beaten up by the public. Theres no two ways about it, she said, adding, Delhi, on the other hand, is not just completely indifferent, but also insensitive. If someone is being molested or harassed and raises their voice, even the person sitting next to you will behave as if theres nothing wrong and its normal. People here behave like its a show to be watched as a spectator . We have always been told that of all public transport, buses are the safest in the evenings and nights, as there are bound to be other co-

passengers. That they are safer than say autos. But if co-passengers turn blind and that public turns perpetrator, how safe are we? Bipasha asks. Kirti Singh, Supreme Court lawyer and womens rights advocate, believes that our justice system must take very stringent measures against perpetrators of rape. You have to punish such aggressors in a particular (stringent) way in a civilised society, so that people know they cant get away. So that it acts as a deterrent, she said. Men who are aggressors, cannot go scot free and cannot blame their aggression towards women on their frustration or anger. One may be an angry person generally but why is that anger only directed at servants or women and not on their bosses or superiors? Its a backlash against the mobility and autonomy of women, Singh said, further explaining, Many of these perpetrators will subscribe to the idea of wives and daughters staying at home behind closed doors and go out and rape women because to them the empowered women signify an independence from men. To them, women who have and live their own lives are bad women, who deserve to be raped. Without the assurance of public support, Delhi women have been forced to rely on their own means of defense, usually safety pins and pepper sprays. But many of the protestors at Tuesdays gathering said that while citizens need to be more proactive, the system needs to plug the holes. If bystanders are not complaining about something or being involved citizens, there must be a reason for it. Maybe they want to but then our public justice system is so flawed that they may be afraid that if they get involved, they may be the ones implicated, Kopal said. The state government spends so much money on various celebrations, why cant they channelise that money into providing better security for women, sensitising people and even the police towards crimes against women? she asks. Bipasha rubbishes the claims of some top cops who frame rape as a socio-cultural problem, as when Delhis Police Commissioner, Neeraj Kumar, told Firstpost, I do believe that it isCopyright 2012 Firstpost

more a socio-cultural problem than a law and order one. By socio-cultural I mean that the milieu here is different from the milieu in the northeast or other parts of the country. Here (in Delhi), attitude towards the woman are different. So any outsider woman, who comes to live in Delhi, finds herself to be the odd person out. Whatever the cultural roots of a crime, argues Bipasha, if it is against the law, it must be dealt with accordingly. Or else, why do we need the police? she asks. According to Delhi Police data, there were 480 reported cases of rape last year and 580 cases of sexual assault this year. Delhi has also seen 10 rapes that have taken place in moving vehicles, in the last 10 years. The Delhi government is expected to take up a proposal to set up fast track courts in the state to disburse speedy justice to rape victims and Home Minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde on Tuesday constituted a special committee to look into the safety of women in Delhi. These lofty plans, however, seem less than comforting when even existing measures to protect women are poorly executed. The Delhis Womens Helpline, a hotline number for women in distress, for example, is unusable for all practical purposes. The Delhi Police website shows its women hel-

pline numbers as 1091 and 011-24121234. When this reporter called the numbers, 1091 wouldnt even connect and a lady who picked up the phone on the landline number said the number was not for complaints. Delhi Transport Corporations helpline number (9604400400), too, was of no help. Callers to this number receive a recorded message saying the call is being forwarded to another number after which it promptly gets disconnected. The helpline numbers on the Delhi Commission for Women website too dont work. With no robust security, male perpetrators who often go scot-free, apathetic co-citizens, and officials who advocate restricting womens rights as a solution, the citys women say they have to take things into their own hands. You have to be bold and we have to claim our own space, Kopal said, Our biggest weapon is our gut and our voice, which we must raise. Mobility is a very important issue and we women must claim back our right to it. Till that time, we will continue to see young, bright and promising girls raped and women like the senior citizen attending the protest outside Vasant Vihar Police Station yesterday pleading to a disinterested crowd.

Copyright 2012 Firstpost

Rape-Outrage-Rape: This vicious cycle must end

Unfortunately, the genuine outrage and the intense grief over a young girls unimaginable suffering at the hands of a gang of reckless rowdies, will also pass. Unless there is another incident sooner or later.G Pramod Kumar, Dec 19, 2012 he outrage that the Delhi gangrape has triggered across the country seems to be unprecedented. We havent seen such a display of truthful emotions in the Indian parliament for a long time, while people are spontaneously coming out on to streets demanding action. Last time we have seen anything like this, where people were visibly angry against the establishment, was when thousands joined Anna Hazare at Ram Lila. People wanted immediate action

against an endemic problem and both the Congress and the BJP appeared to be a bit rattled. Many of us thought, justifiably, that Anna Hazares movement was the tipping point we had been waiting for. Every ingredient for change seemed to be in perfect measure. Still, it failed. The Congress, the BJP, Laloo Yadavs and Mayawatis of the country effectively played out their strategy to cool off the anger and push the issue out of their limited sight. Corruption is on the back-burner now.Copyright 2012 Firstpost

Unfortunately, the genuine outrage and the intense grief over a young girls unimaginable suffering at the hands of a gang of reckless rowdies, who felt totally safe from the police and the government while dismembering her life on Delhis public funded roads, will also pass. Unless there is another incident sooner or later. What is most likely to happen in this case is fast-track action against the accused. Even without any further media and public pressure, they will most likely be tried by a fast-track court and sentenced in record time. A lot of us will feel less angry and vindicated, and that will close the conversation. But what will remain unresolved, will be the fundamental issue: safety of women in Delhi. The helplines and hotlines meant for their safety will continue to be faulty as Firstpost noted immediately after the incident, inefficient and derelict police will continue to be incapable of preventing violence against women, and our sick men will continue to flash their organs, molest, rape and kill women unmindful or unfearful of the law, whether there is death penalty or chemical castration. A very annoying case of pessimism? Why do I dare say this? Because that is what our collective life experiences tell us with unfailing accuracy the many cases that we have witnessed in the last several years, and how the nation recoiled and then gone back to its pathetic ways. The first such case I can remember is the sensational murder of two kids in 1978 Sanjay and Geeta Chopra who were picked up by culprits in south Delhi. The girl was raped and both of them were killed. Even without satellite channels and the current profusion of media, the murder outraged and pained the country. Sitting in the southern most tip of the country, we wept as teenagers personalising the pain the kids would have gone through. I remember how middle class parents across India were mortally worried about their childrens safety as they went to school. There were discussions on safety and security of people, policing, capital punishment and so on. Even by the standards of the

seventies, the trial and sentencing were fast. The culprits were hanged to death in 1982. If Delhi wanted to change, it could have changed in 1978 itself, 34 years ago. Even if it had set off a systemic change that takes time to work, Delhi would have been safe by now. Let me fast-forward to the present. The next case in my memory is what makes me more pessimistic. It happened just about a year ago in Kerala, and is very similar to the Delhi incident in terms of the macabre details and public reaction of anger and emotions. Sowmya, a young girl, working in a mobile shop in Kochi, was on her way home by an evening passenger train. After a particular station, she was alone in her compartment and a disabled, puny beggar pounced on her. She ran through the compartment screaming for help; at least one man in the adjacent compartment heard her cries, but preferred not to stop the train because he wanted to get home early. The beggar-criminal overpowered her and threw her out of the train, during which she suffered serious head injuries, and carried her half-dead body to a bush and raped her. Leaving her bleeding and unconscious, the man got back to his routine of jumping from compartment to compartment begging. She later died in the hospital even as the entire state prayed for her. The incident outraged the state. It exceeded saturation coverage in Keralas crowded mediaspace. As in the case of the Delhi incident, the discussions and questions ranged from police and railway inaction, poor investigation and conviction rates, and safety of women in trains. In this case, since it happened in a train, the media didnt look at the larger context of safety of women in public transport. The man had a name: Govindachamy. He was Tamil, a migrant beggar, who apparently had links with criminals who operated out of trains. Reportedly, he was a serial offender and was in jail in Tamil Nadu. A leading Malayalam newspaper did a psycho-social analysis of the man, after visiting his place of origin in Tamil Nadu and investigating his family and social backCopyright 2012 Firstpost

grounds. He seemed to be a perfect sociopath, conditioned to be a criminal by his family, and even had a criminal record. But, right under the nose of the Kerala and Railway police, he operated in the most used public transport system in the state. The incident happened in February 2011. Women politicians, poets and activists genuinely cried for the victims and the politicians both demanded and assured action to ensure safety of women in trains. Not another Sowmya in the state, was their refrain. Govindachamy got a fast-track trial and he was sentenced to death in record time. For his crime in February, he got the noose in November. End of story. What happened to safety of women in the trains? Practically nothing. Immediately after the incident and several months later, TV channel reporters boarded passenger trains and showed that they were still unsafe for women. Lonely compartments, unlit and scary railway stations, ladies compartments that were attached at the far end of trains and no security forces every element of risk that made Soumya a sitting duck was still the same. Women passengers said that

they were scared to travel by these trains, but had no other option. What happened to the politicians who demanded and promised action? What happened to the government assurances? What happened to all the poetry and tears? The story is forgotten now. After a year of outrage and pain, everything is back to square one. Women continue to travel in fear of a lurking criminal somewhere. The Railways havent been able to even prevent suspicious men moving across train compartments as beggars. I am afraid the same might happen in Delhi too. Because as a nation, we are a failure. While only a social transformation and fear/respect for law alone will be able make lasting changes, we need preventive and rapid-response systems in place. Such systems should ensure that incidents like the gangrape rarely happens. For that we need all government-arms working in unison (multi-sectoral action), to be in a constant vigil and permanent readiness 24/7, year after year. It needs commitment, money, machines and people, without or without public outrage. Remember, when former prime minister Indira Gandhi was shot, she had to be taken to the hospital in the backseat of a car because the driver of her dedicated ambulance was out having tea.

Copyright 2012 Firstpost

Sheila, Mamata and the

plight of the rape victimNo one expects Sheila Dikshit or Mamata Banerjee to make rape their number one priority just because they are women. But is a little more sensitivity, a little more plain human outrage too much to ask?Sandip Roy, Dec 20, 2012 o say women chief ministers should be more pro-active when it comes to rape sounds like we are giving the men a pass, turning rape into a womens issue. But its not too much to expect that a woman chief minister should at least be more empathetic. Alas, two of our most prominent women chief ministers have shown themselves to be anything but that.

bished it saying the victims late husband had been a CPI(M) supporter. In the most recent Delhi case, Dikshit didnt go that far. After all the 23-year-old gang rape victim had followed all the rules. She was not in a bar alone. It was not 3 am in the morning. She had a male escort. She was not getting into a private taxi with a group of strange men. But Dikshits initial reaction, before the case turned into a political hot potato, was brusque, dismissive and frankly, insensitive. She told a throng of reporters that she had spoken with the transport department and they had cancelled the license for the bus. For anything else they should go ask police commissioner Neeraj Kumar. Madam, this is not a bus licence issue. Wheres the shock? Wheres the outrage? Perhaps its only to be expected given her partys official response. Congress spokesman Manish Tewari told the media that the gang rape should be condemned in the strongest possible words.

Where Mamata Banerjee leads, Sheila Dikshit follows. Mamata set the bar way low when she dismissed the infamous Park Street rape case as a conspiracy concocted to malign her government and tried to cast aspersions on the character of the victim, out late in a bar by herself. Her minister Madan Mitra wondered why a a mother had to go to a nightclub. When another woman claimed she had been raped at gunpoint by a gang of robbers in a moving train Mamata rub-

Then the strongest possible word the usually voluble Mr Tewari managed to summon up for it was unfortunate. Dikshit cannot even seem to manufacture the appearance of outrage and grief. Contrast that to Obamas reaction to the elementary school massacre in Connecticut. Whether he actually has the guts to really push through changes in gun control is a different matter. But at least he had a genuine reaction to the horror. There was something real about it. Dikshit sounded like the entire rape case was a nuisance that was interrupting her busy schedule.Copyright 2012 Firstpost

Of course, thats not terribly out of character for her. When journalist Soumya Viswanathan was murdered in Delhi in 2008, Dikshit implied she had brought it on herself. All by herself till 3 am at night in a city where people believe you know you should not be so adventurous. As the uproar over this rape refused to die down, and the BJP stepped up calls for her head, and Sonia Gandhi dashed off a letter to her, Dikshit changed her tune somewhat with all the creaking grace of a lumbering public bus changing course. She promised all help for fast track courts and pleaded with the media to not politicise the issue. We will gain nothing by politicising it, she said. Then she promptly blamed everyone except her own administration migratory populations, porous borders. She didnt want the blame and she tried to spread the shame around. It is something we all need to be ashamed of, not only as police administration or administration but also as a society, she told Headlines Today. Mamata sought to blame the media for glorifying rape. That was demolishing the culture of Bengal she fumed and would not be tolerated by the people. So Mamatas get-tough policy on rape was about zero tolerance for the media coverage of rape not rape itself. Dikshit offered up the blandest political fixit known to man aka death by committee. We have heard opinions from various persons representing various bodies. I am presently considering opinions to consolidate them and decide the future course of action. Such a committee should meet regularly and we will meet in 15-20 days. A woman is gang raped, brutalized with an iron rod, her intestines are pulverized, she is stripped and thrown out of a moving bus in her city and the CM comes up with the assurance of a committee. At a moment when a chief minister could be a leader, Dikshit managed to come across as a tone-deaf bureaucrat whose only job

was to duck blame. Mamata came up with the other stock response of the politician throwing money. She announced that Rs 30,000 would be given to victims if they were minors and Rs 20,000 to adults. If the raped woman was disabled she could get Rs 50,000 but only if she was 80 percent disabled. What she didnt realise was that what victims would be better served by chief minister who was willing to believe their story and a police force that was quick to lodge an FIR. The initial administrative reaction to both the Park Street rape case and the New Delhi case was telling. Neither had anything to do with the victim or the crime itself. It was all about window dressing. Delhi got busy with a crackdown on tinted windows and curtains on buses and Kolkata stopped serving drinks after 11 pm. In Mamatas Bengal, even that curfew is dying a quiet, if expensive, death. Bars can now stay open after midnight if they cough up Rs 10,000 for each additional hour after midnight. And even when they shut down, you can take the party home. The government is going to allow bars to sell bottles over the counter at retail rates. In the past two months, the department has earned Rs 468 crore, around Rs 100 crore more than the projection, an official at the excise department told The Telegraph. Now we are confident of surpassing the target by 11 to 13 percent and earning at least Rs 320 crore extra. Whether women in Kolkata are safer or not now, they can at least take comfort in knowing that some good came out of the Park Street rape case the government figured out a way to add a little more cash to its empty coffers. No one expects Sheila Dikshit or Mamata Banerjee to make rape their number one priority just because they are women. But is a little more sensitivity, a little more plain human outrage too much to ask?

Copyright 2012 Firstpost

not fast-track courts

Experts believe terms like zinda lash only locate the shame on the womans body. The Parliamentarians should rather fight for tougher laws, their implementation and a gender sensitive state that helps to rehabilitate the victim.FP Staff, Dec 20, 2012 he gangrape of the 23 year old medical student has sparked off a nationwide outrage against the heinous crime that the capital has been witness to. From parliamentarians to street protestors several people have been campaigning for the death penalty of the accused. Vrinda Grover, human rights lawyer said that the solutions being offered by the parliamentarians like the death penalty and fast track courts would not work. Speaking to CNN-IBN, she said, Fast track courts have been tried in riot cases but they have completely failed. We need a public prosecutor who will be gender sensitive and then the case can be solved fast. The death penalty is also not the right way to go, according to her. She said, Before the death penalty get the convictions right. Parliamentarians should shout for these things instead of saying things like zinda lash (living corpse) and asking for death penalty. The comment zinda lash was made by Opposition leader Sushma Swaraj while referring to the trauma that the girl has been going through and to press for stronger legal action against the perpetrators. This labelling of women with terms like zinda lash is also not a step in the right direction. Journalist Sameera Khan said, By subscribing to such kind of labelling we are locating the shame on the womans body. Locate the shame on the perpetrators. Ex-Chief Secretary Shailaja Chandra suggestedCopyright 2012 Firstpost

We need sensitive prosecutors,

a number of solutions to bring to book the perpetrators such heinous crimes. She said, Rape should be looked at like a public health problem. The onus should lie with a medical department like the Centre for Communicable Diseases. A federal law should be in place where the rape cases will be overseen not just by the police but also several other authorities. According to her, a statutory authority should be set up to look at the prevention of rape. She said, This body will also look into the legal case and rehabilitation of the victim. It should use the police as an arm. A rape case should not be the direct responsibility of the police alone. The verdict is clear tougher laws and their implementation coupled with gender sensitive rehabilitation should be the way to go. The burden of the judicial proceeding should not rest just with the victims and their families, it should lie with the state, all of them agreed.

Uthva lenge can be solved

with political danda

The capital is no more unsafe for women than other cities, nor are its men any worse. But what makes it more scary for women is the blithe sense of impunity displayed by men in a city ruled by power and violence.Lakshmi Chaudhry, Dec 19, 2012

am a Delhi girl. I was born and raised in the city. Though a Tam-Brahm by birth, it is the streets of Delhi, its show-sharaba culture, calorie-inducing food that spell home for me. But I will never, ever move back to Delhi for one simple reason: I have a young daughter

mother just to run to the cornerstore after after 7 pm. Escorts who often were no deterrent to the truly determined, like the pack of boys who followed a teenaged me and my mother into the nearby temple, heckling, taunting, and fearless. The intervening decades have done little to change the palpable atmosphere of fear that shrouds the everyday lives of women in my old hometown. It is as if there is a silent conspiracy in this city, a woman friend tells BBC correspondent Soutwik Biswas, to keep the women scared. Biswas offers a cursory string of reasons for the citys exceptional reputation: The mistreatment and abuse of women is a particular problem in Delhi and northern India. A stiflingly patriarchal social mindset, a brazen culture of political power, a general disdain for law, a largely insensitive police force and a rising population of rootless, lawless migrants are only some of the reasons. There must be many others. It may be comforting to think that the Delhi male is that much worse than his countrymen, but the reality, as The Hindu notes, is that Delhis reputation as Indias rape capital may be misleading: There are plenty of other places in India with a higher incidence of reported rape, in population adjusted terms and Delhis record on convicting perpetrators is far higher than the national average. A Hindustan Times survey conducted with NGO Akshara last year revealed that 95 percent ofCopyright 2012 Firstpost

Interlaced with fond childhood memories of late night trips to Pandara Road, Lohri bonfires, and basking in the winter sun are other, less pleasant images. The ubiquitous, unashamed leering on the streets that taught me to never look up or around. The many headlong flights from men following me in cycles, autos, and cars, yelling obscenities in my wake. The constant squirming and shifting on DTC buses to avoid the man pressing his penis against me, or leaning his crotch into my face as I sat on the aisle seat. The constant vigilance required each time I took an auto, to be sure he was taking the right route, or didnt stop to pick up a friend. The fear of lecherous policemen on the lookout for young girls out late at night with male friends. The need to be constantly escorted by a friend, brother or

women in Mumbai the bastion of cosmopolitanism have been sexually harassed, and the conviction rate in rape cases in the city is a paltry 7 percent. Delhi may not be more unsafe, but it does feel more unsafe. As a friend confesses, In Chennai, I will run after the guy and yell at him, but in Delhi Im too scared to do it. Theres something about Delhi that makes its women very, very afraid. One reason is that in Delhi perhaps more than any other major city what matters is not the rule of law but the primacy of privilege, be it of gender, money, connections, or political clout. Sexual violence against women in Delhi is a symptom of its subservience to hierarchy. Men flaunt their power of gender and abuse it because they can. Just like that politician who will have someone sacked or beaten up if he dares to offend. The rich guy who will mow a passerby down and drive on by. In the case of women, this blithe sense of impunity is summed up by that quintessential Delhi phrase, Uthva lenge. What the two words spell out in no uncertain terms is this: You are not safe at anytime or any place; I can take you at whim and against your will; there will be no reprisals or consequence. It sums up the complacency of indisputable male power. The other is a culture of violence that extends beyond the sexual kind. The bystander effect is common elsewhere in India, but in Delhi, the reluctance to intervene is compounded by the greater likelihood of serious consequences. In our capital, you wont just be roughed up if you cross the wrong men, but attacked with rods, knives and now guns. This is a city where gun ownership is a status symbol for the rich and a must-have weapon for the average thug, be it a lowly katta or an AK-47. The Delhi Belly scene where the jealous ex-husband and his goons wave guns in the midst of traffic on a South Delhi flyover wasnt Bollywood melodrama but a cinematic wink at an only in Delhi phenomenon.

Take a culture of violence and hierarchy, add the modern Indian woman, newly at large on the streets, on her way to work, college, or a date. The result is horrific sexual assault. Patriarchy is the easy and lazy answer to the Why Delhi? question. Saudi Arabia is more sexist than any hintertown in the Delhi-NCR region, but its women are safer because they remain strictly under male control. The rising rates of sexual violence against women and not just in Delhi but also other major metros and even small towns is also a symptom of progress. Delhi women make easier targets than ever before because they have stepped outside the safe confines of the chaar diwari. We can offer reasons upon reasons, but the more important question is this: So what is to be done? Wise experts offer counsel about changing gender attitudes, while hotheads advocate castration or the death penalty. But as a Delhi girl, I offer a simpler, short-term solution. Rather than scream their heads off in Parliament about justice, womens rights et al, our outraged leaders need only send out one clear message: Every woman in Delhi will be treated as the ek lauti beti of a powerful neta (Take you pick, Sheila Dixit, LK Advani, Sonia Gandhi). Touch her and there will be instant action and severe reprisals and not just against the men with the temerity to commit such a crime. Officials will be transferred, demoted, or sacked. Cases will be fast-tracked. And examples will be made of any party minion who intervenes in the course of justice. All those elaborate excuses about socio-cultural changes, policing problems, womens behaviour, attire etc will disappear overnight. Nothing works in Delhi quite like the political danda. Too bad none of our leaders are willing to wield it just this once for a good cause.

Copyright 2012 Firstpost

92 percent working women feel insecure in Delhi-NCR

The assessment based on feedback received from women says that 92 percent females working with medium and small scale firms are extremely worried and concerned as regards to their outside moments.IANS, Dec 18, 2012 urgaon: At least 92 percent of working women feel insecure, especially during night, in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), industry panel Assocham said on Tuesday. The assessment based on feedback received from women says that 92 percent females working with medium and small scale firms are extremely worried and concerned as regards to their outside moments. According to the survey by Assocham Social Development Foundation, 56 percent of such workforce in the medium sector is quite appre-

hensive about their safety and security, particularly after sunset. The same fear of security lapses is felt by about 36 percent working women engaged in large scale establishments. Assocham has conducted a random survey of women in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune and Dehradun, among others. All women respondents very strongly felt that the problem of insecurity faced by women is bigger than any other problem or challengeCopyright 2012 Firstpost

faced by India. Releasing the assessment, Assocham secretary general DS Rawat said that in sector specific cases BPOs, travel and tourism, and nursing homes women employees are the most vulnerable and prone to both physical and non-physical attacks, especially after their duty hours are over. In nursing homes including hospitals, 83 percent women continue to suffer from insecurity. Delhi topped the list with 92 percent of women respondents complaining that they feel unsafe. Eighty-five percent of women in Bangalore, 82 percent in Kolkata, and 18 percent in Hyderabad have reported feeling unsafe while working in day and night shifts. Airlines, hotels and service industries have large contingents of female workers. The media also have late night shifts, said Rawat.

The survey further highlights that two in every three women in the national capital have faced some form of sexual harassment in the last year two years. Delhi women face continuous and different forms of sexual harassment in crowded and secluded places, says Rawat. Majority of women who were surveyed said buses were the most unsafe form of transport. Many said the Metro system, which used to be safer earlier, is now equally crowded and unsafe. The survey reveals the most common forms of harassment are verbal (passing lewd comments), visual (staring and leering) and physical (touching or groping or leaning over), adds the survey. Around 92 percent of women respondents very strongly feel that any crime against women should be a non-bailable offence with severe punishment in fast-track courts.

Copyright 2012 Firstpost

Ten rapes in moving vehicles in 10 years in Delhi

There have been 10 rape cases in the city in moving vehicles over the past 10 years, according to official figures of Delhi Police. This year alone, four such incidents were reported.IANS, Dec 17, 2012

ew Delhi: There have been 10 rape cases in the city in moving vehicles over the past 10 years, according to official figures of Delhi Police. This year alone, four such incidents were reported.

with a friend. In 2006, a Class 12 girl was allegedly gangraped by four young men in a moving car Janakpuri in west Delhi. The girl was going home after her tuition classes. In 2010, an 18-year-old girl and a 24-year-old woman, who worked in a factory at Mangolpuri, were raped by four men, including a minor, in a car in Sultanpuri area in north Delhi. The same year, a 30-year-old BPO employee from Manipur, was picked up by four drunk men near Dhaula Kuan and gang-raped for over 40 minutes in a moving vehicle.

As many as 580 females were sexually assaulted this year while 480 rape cases were reported last year in the capital, Delhi Police figures says. In 2001, in the first of its kind incident in Delhi, a 26-year-old woman was gang raped by four men in a moving Blueline bus. The victim boarded the bus from Mathura Road in south Delhi. The men threw her out of the moving bus after raping her. In 2003, a 35-year-old filmmaker was abducted outside Siri Fort Auditorium in south Delhi and raped by two men in a moving car. The accused later left her near Panchsheel Road. A Delhi University student was raped in a moving car by four men near Dhaula Kuan in south Delhi in 2005. The victim was walking home after buying food from a roadside eatery along

In April 2011, a Class 10 student of Gurgaon was abducted and raped by three men as they drove around in south Delhi. In August 2012, a minor girl who had gone to the market with her two friends, was gangraped by nine boys who drove around Pitampura area. The accused stopped the car in which the girls were travelling, abducted the victim at gun-point and raped her in their car. A 21-year-old girl employed with a Delhi Jal Board call centre was gang-raped by eight men in a moving car on the outskirts of Faridabad in August 2012. She was known to one of the accused. Last month, five men allegedly assaulted, robbed and gang-raped a 24-year-old woman from Rwanda in a car while she was returning to her residence in the Timarpur area of north Delhi.Copyright 2012 Firstpost

ew Delhi: Scores of Delhi University students today staged a protest outside Chief Minister Sheila Dikshits residence demanding better security for women in the city and stringent punishment to those involved in rape and brutal assault of a 23-yearold girl, who is battling for life.

crimes against women. Doesnt she have any responsibility towards the women as Chief Minister of the city? Cannot she take up the issue vociferously with the Union Government? a protester, outside Dikshits 3 Motilal Nehru residence, said. The students said they would hold a protest tomorrow as well. Meanwhile, officials said Dikshit spoke to the family members of the victims and assured them that her government was behind them. Talking to reporters, the Chief Minister said she would recommend to the Centre to amend existing legislation to ensure that perpetrators of rape do not get bail.

The students shouted slogans against Dikshit accusing her of not doing anything on safety of women and shifting the blame on police for

Copyright 2012 Firstpost

Delhi rape: Why cant we think

The outrage over the gangrape in Delhi has a predictable ring to it. A couple of days from now, it will fade away.Akshaya Mishra, Dec 18, 2012 ne more gangrape. It does not matter where New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai or anywhere in the country. For Gods sake, lets not cry shame anymore it sounds so fake and insincere. Lets, for a change, be ashamed of ourselves instead. Such incidents have been going on for too long and if theres no guarantee that women will be safe anywhere in the country, lets blame ourselves for the situation. The sense of outrage over the rape of the 23-year-old para-medical student in a moving

above candlelight marches?

bus in New Delhi has a tired, predictable ring to it. The anger on television during panel discussions, the protests on the streets and the outpouring of sympathy for the victim havent we seen all of that before? The repetitive, reflexive action only serves to highlight our collective impotence in making things change in the democracy, even when they involve matters as serious as our own safety and security. For the victim, rape is a personal tragedy the magnitude of which is impossible to map for the outsider. The act is not merely the violation ofCopyright 2012 Firstpost

the body, its more about the indelible scars it leaves on the soul and psyche of the victim. If this girl survives, she will be a living dead, said Sushma Swaraj, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha. When a woman gets murdered, she gets killed once. But when she gets raped, she dies again and again, said Girija Vyas, member of Parliament. The reactions sum up the tragic consequences on the victim rather well. Rape is heinous crime, it needs no overstating. It reflects the societys attitude towards women and its level of cultural and civilisational maturity. The solutions societies come up with to tackle the problem are also reflective of the collective ability to keep in check deviant conduct among some of its members. That the cases of rape are rising and getting more brazen in nature in India shows that the country has lost the ability to think with purpose. The protest marches, candle-lit rallies, online rants and furious media debates are hardly the way to solve any problem. The call for tougher laws is little more than empty talk. More laws never make life better, good implementation of laws does. Death sentence for rapists might act as a deterrent, but with no fine-tuning of the investigation machinery and processes, it could be an instrument with the police open to abuse. Throwing the rapists in jail in quick time through fast track courts might help but its more like treating the symptom, not the disease. The law is aimed at the criminal, not the crime per se, particularly those emerging out of prejudices entrenched in social practices. The menace of khaps, killings ordered by them to be more specific, and cases of dowry torture and killings have not disap-

peared despite threat of severe legal action. It works best in case of crimes with no linkages to the beliefs and practices of the wider community, and the culprit stands without a larger social context. However, it does not mean that laws need not be changed or created in accordance to the needs of the time. The purpose of this article is to underline that these changes must be matched by corresponding changes in the wider backdrop against which such crimes takes place. Acts of rape may not have explicit social sanction although its known that panchayats have ordered rape of lower caste women as punishment but they are born out of social attitude that is disrespectful towards women in general. The best way to tackling rape would be to treat it as a social malaise rather than treat it purely as a law and order issue. Our current demands tougher laws, fast track courts etc are directed at punishing the guilty, not finding a remedy to the wider malaise. The latter would require involvement of the civil society, the communities and the government. Its a long process, but we need to make a beginning somewhere. For now, it would be a great service to the victims if we go beyond demands that are cosmetic in character. To begin with, why cannot we demand a more efficient, agile and sensitised police force? Why cannot we demand execution of concepts like community policing? Why cannot the civil society and students community encouraged to get involved in watch operations? These are preventive measures and much more is needed to be done on this front. The country must put itself to the task of thinking more and reacting less.

Copyright 2012 Firstpost

Delhi gangrape: Slew of measures

announced, HC clears fast-track courtsA rising tide of outrage over the brutal gangrape of a young paramedical student today led to announcement of a raft of measures including increased police patrolling and five fast track courts to deal with such cases and the Delhi High Court to step in and monitor the probe.PTI, Dec 20, 2012

ew Delhi: A rising tide of outrage over the brutal gangrape of a young paramedical student today led to announcement of a raft of measures including increased police patrolling and five fast track courts to deal with such cases and the Delhi High Court to step in and monitor the probe.

to remove her gangrenous small intestine. They said she has lost most of her intestine and remains on ventilatory support. Delhi Police invoked more stringent charges of attempt to murder and destruction of evidence against the six accused. Taking suo motu cognisance of the dastardly crime, the Delhi High Court decided to monitor its investigation by directing police to carry a high standard probe and file the chargesheet only after the courts perusal. Nobody is safe, the court said, as it pulled up the police, noting such incidents repeatedly happen in the city. Asking Delhi police how the bus, having tinted glasses, kept plying on busy roads for 40 minutes and the sexual assault remained undetected, a bench headed by Chief Justice D Murugesan directed Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar to file a status report within two days giving all details. As the shocking crime continued to engage the attention of Parliament, Government announced increased police patrolling, immediate crackdown on vehicles having tinted glass besides impounding of buses and autorickshaws being plied by unverified drivers. All commercial vehicles, including buses, will be asked to keep their lights on during night while plying in Delhi, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said.Copyright 2012 Firstpost

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described the assault against the girl in a moving bus here on Sunday night as very upsetting even as a fifth personAkshay Thakur was detained in Bihar in the case and being brought to Delhi and police hot on the trail of a sixth person Raju, a helper. The 23-year-old girl, who was also tortured, underwent a fifth surgery and continues to be critical but stable, doctors attending on her at Safdarjung hospital said. Doctors performed an elective abdominal surgery gastronomy and duodenustromy had

The Registrar General of the High Court communicated to Delhi Government its acceptance of the recommendation to immediately make functional five fast track courts to deal with cases of sexual assault against women, officials said. Its a heinous crime. It is very upsetting, Prime Minister Singh said while receiving a delegation of women MPs who raised the gangrape case. Shinde said in Parliament that Delhi Police have added sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence) against the accused. Police had earlier charged them under sections 365 (kidnapping or abducting), 376 (2)(g) (gang rape), 377 (unnatural offences), 394 (hurting in committing robbery) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC Making a statement in both Houses of Parliamentthe second in two dayson the incident, Shinde said it has been decided to augment the PCR fleet of Delhi Police by providing more vehicles which would be GPS-enabled so that their movement can be tracked at the central control room. There shall be immediate crackdown on buses having tinted glasses and curtains and all such

vehicles will be impounded immediately, the Minister said after reviewing the situation with Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar. All commercial vehicles, including buses, will be asked to keep their lights on during night while plying in Delhi. All off-duty buses must be parked with their owners and not with their driver or staff, Shinde said. Commercial vehicles including buses found violating the contract carriage conditions or any other permit conditions shall be impounded and their permits cancelled. Police will undertake verification of drivers and staff of all public vehicles and all buses and autos being plied by unverified staff or drivers shall be impounded, said Shinde, who is directly responsible for law and order in the capital. Angry protests also erupted across the country with its epicentre being outside Chief Minister Sheila Dikshits residence, Police Headquarters and at India Gate. Police had to use water cannons to disperse the protesters outside Dikshits residence when they tried to bring down metal barricades.

Copyright 2012 Firstpost

for 40 minutes: Delhi HC to Police

Taking suo motu cognisance of the gang-rape of a 23-year-old girl in a moving bus here, the Delhi High Court today pulled up the city police asking how the offence remained undetected.PTI, Dec 19, 2012

How did bus evade surveillance

ew Delhi: Taking suo motu cognisance of the gang-rape of a 23-year-old girl in a moving bus here, the Delhi High Court today pulled up the city police asking how the offence remained undetected.

The court on its own motion has listed the matter, the bench said. Asking the police to file status report, the bench said that the probe must be of high standards and the final charge-sheet has to be filed only after its perusal by this court. We would be issuing necessary directions time to time in this court. This court will also issue the guidelines after taking note of the contentions of all concerned, it said. The court also expressed surprise as to how the bus, having tinted glasses, kept plying on Delhi roads for 40 minutes during which the sexual assault of the girl remained undetected.

This incident is of great concern for all the citizens of the capital city as it relates to the safety particularly of women and girl children in Delhi, a bench headed by Chief Justice D Murugesan said and asked the Delhi Police Commissioner to file a detailed status report within two days The court was anguished over the non-implementation of the Supreme Court order on complete ban of vehicles with tinted glasses and asked the counsel for the Delhi Police to explain as to how it has not been implemented so far. There are two important questions. The first is the investigation in the case and the second is the preventive measures. We want to know what preventive measures have been taken by the police to prevent such incidents, the bench also comprising Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw said.

We are at loss to understand as to how the bus could evade surveillance for 40 minutes The Commissioner of Police is directed to file a report including the details of police officers who were on patrolling duty in the area. The Police Commissioner shall also state the steps taken to remove the tinted glasses from vehicles including public transport, the court said. The bench asked the police to employ sufficient number of police personnel at all entry points to the national capital to ensure that vehicles with tinted glasses do not sneak in. The court, which also asked the Director CFSL to accord primacy to the investigation in the present case, sought to know about the present status of the victim inside the government hospital and asked the Delhi Government to conCopyright 2012 Firstpost

sider shifting her to a super speciality hospital. We direct the Delhi Government to shift, if possible, the victim to a super speciality hospital. If it is not possible to shift her, then experts should be asked to visit her, Justice Murugesan said and posted the matter for hearing on Friday. Earlier during the hearing, the court said that it has accepted the request of the Chief Minister to constitute fast-track courts for speedy trial in rape cases. Advocate Najmi Waziri, counsel for Delhi Government, then said that the court may also consider setting up of fast-track court for gang-rape cases also. In any case, the fast-track courts will not work if investigation is of poor quality. Rather it will lead to acquittal within three months, Justice Endlaw responded and added that the probe has to be of high standards. Have you examined the bus forensically. Waziri informed the court that a special investigation team (SIT) headed by DCP Chhaya Sharma has been formed and a proper and expeditious probe is underway. Yesterday, a group of 25 women lawyers had mentioned the matter before a different bench which had assured them that it was looking into the brazen incident.

It was a brazen attempt by some persons who think that they can play with the law and order.. We are very disturbed, the court had said, adding strong signals must be sent to the perpetrators of this unfortunate incident. The lawyers, including former DUSU President Monica Arora, mentioned the incident before the bench urging it to take suo motu cognisance and monitor the probe in the case. A Delhi court had yesterday remanded the bus driver Ram Singh, who along with others allegedly gangraped the girl on Sunday night, to five days in police custody. Apart from Singh, three others have been arrested in the case, while the hunt is on for the rest, Delhi police had told the court. The girl, a paramedical student, was raped and brutally assaulted before being thrown out of the moving vehicle along with her male friend. Both the victim and her male friend, who had boarded the chartered bus with tinted glass windows from Munirka in south Delhi to Palam around 9.45 PM on Sunday night, were assaulted with an iron rod by the men after the two resisted before they were dumped on the road side near Mahipalpur flyover, police said.

Copyright 2012 Firstpost

Delhi gangrape: A safety guide to everyday travel

The gruesome rape and attempted murder of two young people on a city bus on Sunday night has shaken Delhi. Firstpost brings you a security experts guide for safety on Delhis streets.Pallavi Polanki, Dec 20, 2012

ditors Note: While police and judicial reform have to be steps that we fight for and put in place immediately, this is an attempt to help readers think through some everyday-travel safety measures. The gruesome rape and attempted murder of two young people on a city bus on Sunday night has shaken Delhi. As faith of citizens in the police hits an all time low, paranoia has gripped the Capital city.

Firstpost brings you a security experts guide for safety on Delhis streets. 1. Do not board public transport if there are no female passengers on board. The male passengers could be decoy/fake. 2. If you are working night shifts, use only office-authorised transport from pick-up and drop-points. Join a group that suits the time of your shift. There is safety in numbers.Copyright 2012 Firstpost

3. Always have the cell number of your colleagues or friend or family member who will respond to your call at once. 4. Your cell phone is a very handy weapon it can record (audio and video) for evidence or your conversation can be heard by a friend to who can arrange for help. 5. Learn basics of self-defence to give yourself a chance to run. 6. The first chance you get, you must run for safety. 7. Never attack if alone try to get away as soon as possible. 8. Call 100 if the situation gets beyond your control or the moment you feel unsafe. 9. Carry a pepper spray in your bag. It is very effective if sprayed into the eyes of the attacker. Even a deodorant spray if used in the eyes can give you valuable time to run/ call for help. 11. Some other items in your bag that can be used as weapons pen, pencil, nail cutter with an in built knife, small pocket knife, the file used to shape finger nails. 12. As far as possible do not use dark alleys/ roads. Carry a small flash light in your car/bag. 13. Make it a habit to always note the number of the taxi/transport and SMS the same to your family member or colleague. 14. While moving in the transport always give your present location to your family members or colleague so that your location and your estimated time of arrival can be calculated. If you are late, the person is sure to contact you to make inquiries.

15. If delayed in office or if you have missed your office transport, it is safer to wait for a few hours for the next trip. Always inform your contact person about any change. 16. Never take a lift from strangers, no matter how late. 17. If you have been intercepted close to the office or your home turn back at once. Do not proceed till help arrives. 18. Always walk against the traffic so that you see who is coming. 19. If caught in the open, move to the nearest crowded place like a shop, a mall, where there are bound to be security guards and call for help. 20. In case your vehicle breaks down call your office/home to arrange for alternate transport. 21. While shopping alone, try as far as possible to return before dark. 22. Dont use the same route on which you were harassed. It is better to wait for a few days. 23. If possible try and change your schedule (time) of movement. Even 30 to 40 minutes can save you from harassment. 24. Try and recollect the faces you see every day on your way to office/home. If you chance on these familiar faces in unusual places be alert. Try to remember the colour of the dress, hairstyle, and type of vehicle used (make/colour). 25. Age is no barrier for your safety you may be attacked. Babies & senior citizens have been raped. Take precautions.